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New generation of RoRo vessels to raise the bar in environmental friendly transport

Recently the Danish operator DFDS signed a contract with CSC Jinling Shipyard, China, for two large RoRo vessels.

KNUD E. HANSEN has worked closely with DFDS and CSC Jinling Shipyard over the past 4 months in order to refine and optimise the concept. The result of these efforts is a new generation of RoRo vessels that will be among the largest in the world and will raise the bar for what is considered environmental friendly.

EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) is a big challenge for RoRo vessels and there has been a strong focus on structural solutions and optimised hydrodynamic capabilities. During the contractual design, a preliminary model test has been performed in order to validate the vessel’s speed/power performance.

The future task for KNUD E. HANSEN is to further develop the design into a Basic Design.

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DFDS has ordered another two of these 6,700-lane metre large ships to be built at the Jinling shipyard in China. The design was developed in collaboration with naval architects Knud E. Hansen.

With the two new ships, DFDS has ordered four large ro-ro ships to service freight customers across the North Sea from 2019 and 2020.

Last year DFDS signed a contract with the Chinese shipyard Jinling for the construction of two ro-ro ships, which with their 6,700 lane metre load capacity and space for 450 trailers, are DFDS' biggest ships ever. Now DFDS has decided to order another two of these large ships.

"The ships form part of our new building programme that underpins our ability to deliver the transport capacity required by our customers and our continuous pursuit of efficiency improvements," says Niels Smedegaard, CEO.

New environmental standards

The ships, like their sister ships, are the first DFDS-owned vessels built according to the new IMO EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) regulations, which set significantly lower limits for energy consumption and emissions in relation to the ship's capacity and engine power. Overall, they will reduce energy consumption and emissions by more than 25% per transported trailer compared to current standards. "As the ships are also being built with a scrubber and equipped with a ballast water treatment system and a number of energy-enhancing initiatives, they represent a whole new generation of environmentally friendly ro-ro ships," says Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS.

Benefits our customers

The first two of the new ro-ro ships are expected to be delivered in early 2019, and the new ones in early 2020.

"The ships are equipped with a unique ramp system with three independent stern ramps and internal ramps on each side in the ships. This means that they can be loaded and unloaded in a very short time so they can offer the combination of greater efficiency and capacity that can support our customers' growth in their trade across the North Sea and enable them to better service their customers," says Peder Gellert Pedersen, Executive Vice President and head of DFDS' Shipping network.

In addition to the four Jinling ships, the programme so far includes two ro-ro ships under construction in Flensburg.

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Earlier this week, steel cutting marked the start of the construction of the first of four 6,700-lanemetre ro-ros DFDS ordered at the Chinese Jinling Shipyard.

It turned out be a festive occasion, complete with an official signing ceremony. Jesper Aagesen, Director Newbuildings & Major Conversion, represented DFDS at the signing ceremony, which was also attended by Mr Ding and Mr Wu from the Jinling management team.

DFDS' Senior Project Manager, Jens Baltsersen, activated the laser cutter which marked the official start of the construction process. The first two ships will be delivered in 2019 with numbers three and four following in 2020.

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Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS has ordered one additional RoRo from the Chinese Jinling Shipyard.

The newbuilding is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2020.

“This freight new building increases our order book to five large freight ferries, which will increase our efficiency and enable us to accommodate projected growth in our route network in northern Europe and the Mediterranean,” Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS, commented.

The newbuilding is similar to the four previously ordered freight ferries and likewise designed to carry 6,700 lane meters of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers. The large capacity decreases unit costs as well as the environmental impact per transported unit, according to the company.

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DFDS has today ordered an additional freight ferry (ro-ro) newbuilding from the Chinese Jinling Shipyard, exercising an option obtained at the ordering of previous ferries.

The newbuilding is similar to the five previously ordered freight ferries and likewise designed to carry 6,700 lane metres of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers. The large capacity decreases unit costs as well as the environmental impact per transport-ed unit.

The new ferries will help our customers grow their business and increase DFDS’ opera-tional efficiency in the route networks in northern Europe and the Mediterranean. The new ferries will be deployed in the route network according to customer demand for capacity. The first two new ferries are expected to be received in the beginning of next year, the third and fourth in the second half of 2019 and the last two in the first half of 2020.

DFDS’ fleet extension and renewal programme also includes two combined freight and passenger ferries (ro-pax) to be delivered in 2021 for deployment in the Baltic route network. In addition, two ro-ro ferries are being lengthened to increase capacity, and a chartered combined freight and passenger ferry (ro-pax) will be delivered in 2021 for deployment on The English Channel routes.

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As earlier reported, the ships in the U.N. Ro-Ro fleet will gradually be renamed, obtaining the Seaways suffix, and painted in the DFDS livery with DFDS lettering on the funnel. So, in addition to the renaming, it’s likely that GOTHIA SEAWAYS’s funnels will also be repainted. Last but not least, the 237.4m long and 33.0m beam ship will be transferred from the Danish to the Turkish register.

“GOTHIA SEAWAYS will be renamed in accordance with the beautiful principle of naming the ships after local sites that reflect the rich cultural history of the region,” Peder Gellert, DFDS’s EVP and Head of the Ferry Division, told when the temporary name of the first ship was officially revealed. “The new name, which will be used along with Seaways, will be one of the names suggested by [BU Mediterranean Operation Superintendent] Hasan Göler in a naming competition. The list includes Troy, Cappadocia, Olympos, Ephesus, Assos, Artemis, Aspendos, Dardanelles, Zeugma, Sumela, Myra and Pergamon,” Gellert added.

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Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS named last week its newest and largest ferry to date.

The naming ceremony for the roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) newbuilding, Ephesus Seaways, was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 7.

Delivered to the company by Jinling Shipyard in China in January 2019, Ephesus Seaways, previously known as Gothia Seaways, will be the largest freight ferry ever to service DFDS’ clients on routes between Turkey and the EU.

“We are extremely proud to present this new ferry… With space for 6,700 lane metres of cargo, our customers, the Turkish and European logistics companies, can look forward to greater capacity,” EVP Peder Gellert, Head of DFDS Ferry Division, commented.

The ship’s first departure was on March 9 from Istanbul. After visiting Trieste fully loaded with 450 trailers, Ephesus Seaways is scheduled to arrive in Bari, Italy, in the evening hours of March 14.

“This ferry is the first of an order of six from the Chinese Jinling Shipyard and will be deployed in DFDS’ route network. It was reflagged under the Turkish flag, and re-named to Ephesus Seaways in accordance with our principle of naming our Mediterranean ships after UNESCO heritage sites in Turkey,” Selçuk Boztepe, Senior Vice President of DFDS in the Mediterranean, said.

The second of the new mega freight ferries will also join our Turkish fleet when it arrives in late spring.

The new freight ferries are each equipped with a ramp system with three independent stern ramps and internal ramps, making it possible to load and unload trailers quickly and efficiently.

In 2018, DFDS acquired U.N. Ro-Ro, Turkey’s largest operator of freight routes, to better use opportunities from the fast-growing transport market between Turkey and the EU. In addition, the company decided to expand both port terminal and route capacities in order to accommodate the volume increase of around 30 percent in the Mediterranean. DFDS is also increasing vessel capacity by allocating further ships to this market.